Originally Smoky Lake was known to the fur industry as Fort White
Earth. Settlement began in the late 1800s. In 1909 the first post
office was opened and the railroad opened in 1915. Designated a
hamlet in 1919; a village in 1923 and town status granted in 1962.
At one time it had the highest number of businesses per capita, and
included in Ripley's Believe it or Not.

On the first Saturday in October, the town is home to the "Great
White North Pumpkin Fair and Weigh-Off."